Addiction Specialist II - Clinical Services at Fort Logan
About The Position
The Addiction Specialist manages the full continuum of specialized substance use and co-occurring disorder services within an acute inpatient state psychiatric setting. This position is responsible for conducting initial substance screenings and comprehensive clinical assessments, delivering evidence-based individual and group therapeutic interventions, and formulating harm-reduction strategies tailored to civil and forensic patient populations. The position actively integrates addiction treatment into multidisciplinary care by participating in Master Treatment Plan (MTP) reviews, updating Interdisciplinary Plans of Care (IPOC), and providing clinical consultation to the broader treatment team. Additionally, the Addiction Specialist coordinates community reintegration and discharge planning—linking patients to geographic-specific recovery resources and escorting eligible individuals to mutual aid meetings—while providing operational, milieu, and educational support across the hospital.
Requirements
- Applicant must possess a current, valid certification from the State of Colorado as: a Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS) OR an Addiction Counselor Candidate (AC-C) OR a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC)
- Must possess one of the licenses below to meet minimum qualifications a Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS) OR an Addiction Counselor Candidate (AC-C) OR a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC)
- CBI name check and fingerprint check
- ICON Colorado court database check
- Medicare fraud database check
- TRAILS (child abuse/ neglect database system check)
- Reference Checks
- Professional License verification (licensure requirements)
- Drug Screen
- PREA (Division of Youth Services) check
- CAPS (direct contact with adults – Mental Health Institutes, Regional Centers, Veterans Community Living Centers) check
- 2-step TB (tuberculosis) screening is required of all new employees upon hire.
- Annual influenza vaccination, COVID, and other vaccinations as required by the State of Colorado.
- Must disclose disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination from prior state employment and explain why it should not disqualify from the current position.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in Addiction/ Substance Use Recovery treatment.
- Certified Addiction Specialist or Licensed Addiction Specialist
- Relevant years of state service experience.
Responsibilities
- Implements structured, evidence-based group interventions within both civil and forensic treatment units to foster addiction recovery and symptom management.
- Develops specialized curricula and runs weekly harm-reduction and educational groups throughout hospital units, modifying clinical materials to meet the needs of individuals with varying intellectual functioning, cognitive levels, and active psychiatric symptomatology.
- Provides dedicated individual clinical care, serving as the subject matter expert on substance use disorders within the multidisciplinary treatment team.
- Maintains a direct clinical caseload, offering targeted substance use psychoeducation, harm reduction counseling, and individualized therapy focused on patient-centered recovery.
- Formulates, updates, and reviews Interdisciplinary Plan of Care (IPOC) interventions, meets at least monthly with patients to evaluate progress and adjust treatment plans, and actively participates in treatment plan reviews.
- Initiates substance screenings and diagnostic evaluations for all admitting patients to inform clinical care and treatment planning across the hospital.
- Conducts and documents comprehensive substance use assessments within two weeks of initiating individual therapy sessions.
- Completes all screenings, assessments, and clinical observations in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) within designated institutional timelines to ensure seamless interdisciplinary communication.
- Assists in preparing tailored discharge plans and facilitating direct community transitions.
- Compiles and provides individualized addiction recovery resource packages, such as local NA/AA meetings, harm reduction programs, and specialized outpatient services matched to the patient’s specific post-discharge geographic location.
- Facilitates community reintegration by organizing and escorting eligible patients off-campus to community-based recovery meetings and support networks when clinically appropriate.
- Provides flexible operational, milieu, and educational support to maintain hospital safety and advance staff development.
- Assists with critical operational needs such as providing emergency group coverage, court hearing supervision, family visitation monitoring, patient transports, cafeteria and treatment mall escorts, and supplemental unit staffing.
Benefits
- PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus 401(k) and 457 plans
- Medical and dental health plans
- Employer supplemented Health Savings Account
- Paid life insurance
- Short- and long-term disability coverage
- 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
- State of Colorado Employee BenefitHub Resource Center
- Employee Wellness program
- Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more
- Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
